Research Phase: The Brewarrina Fishtraps

FISHTRAPS Research Phase: Prototypes + Protocols

MARC5020 The Architecture of Multi-species Cohabitation

Isabella Harris + Carmelo Nastasi

CONTENTS

Acknowledgment of Country Conceptual Framework KNOWLEDGE Prototype + Protocol: Fish traps and Sovereignty Indigenous and Non Indigenous Case-study: The Brewarrina Fish Traps ANTICIPATE Early Stages:

Locality + River Ecology + Dreamtime The Context of Now:

History + Impact of Colonisation KNOWLEDGE + ADAPTATION Construction + Function: W Contextual Influence on Design Purpose + Method RELATIONSHIP + SUSTAINABILITY Community, Country, Human, Non Human Sustainable Development Goals References

‘They travelled along the rivers all through Country.’1

ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF COUNTRY

For generations, the traditional custodians of Brewarrina have lived an abundant and sustainable lifestyle. On this land we recognize the changing and evolving nature of Country and the ways in which local First Nations communities and ecologies have responded and adapted to these changes throughout time.

We acknowledge Ngemba, Ualarai, Murrawarri and Kamilaroi peoples, among others, and pay our respects to the Elders past, present and emerging for their ongoing care of these lands and waterways. We acknowledge that Country is a living, breathing entity with an enduring Spirit that informs the environment we design with now and into the future.

KOAMU

ir yd

R

w

G

UALARAI

Culg

rego War

oa R

MOROWARI

R

BARANBINJA

KAMILAROI

KULA

Wilca Broken Hill

Barwon R Na

om

iR

Macquarie R

ng rli

hR

eg

Da

lera

R

st Ca

nR ga

Bo

WEILAN

Renmark

Adelaide

Mannum

Mildura Balranald

Muarry Bridge Swan Hill

Goolwa Meningle

Kerang

Horsham

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK Knowledge to Anticipate and Adapt for a Sustainable Reltionships into the future Knowledge is generational, told through stories and built on the experiences we have as a result of the relationships we create. Relationships with each other and the environment, living and non living, local and global.

Knowledge is developed in the context of now, built on the moments of yesterday to anticipate and adapt for the tomorrows and a sustainable future.

First Nations Mapping of the Formation Countries Surrounding of the Muarry Darling Basin

KNOWLEDGE PROTOTYPE: FISHTRAP

fish-traps (noun)

structures designed to limit or redirect waters flow to impede the movement of fish.

FISH TRAPS Site Specific vs. Portable Apparatus

Fishing and hunting are two of the most pervasive industries of Indigenous Peoples throughout the world since the Mesolithiv.

The fish trap typology can be broken up into two distinct modes of architectural intervention.

The first being fishing via Portable Apparatus. All the world’s peoples have at some stage utilised portable technology for fishing via spears, poisons, hooks, nets and traps.

The second is a more Site Specific approach where traps take advantage of natural features such as a split, promontory or narrows, within bodies of water.

Constructed from a range of local available materials (wood, woven plant material, saplings or stone), these traps aim to disrupt and restrict the movement patterns of fish. More often then not these more grounded traps were supported by the intervention of the portable apparatus or the captors movements to coerce fish into their midst.

Site Specific passive enclosures that limit fish movement eg.

Weir Stone Wall Fences

Portable Apparatus portable traps used to aid capture

eg.

Funnels Baskets Nets Spears Poison

INDIGENOUS FISH TRAPS Around the Globe

Bergschenhoak, Holland

Blackwater Estuary, Essex

woven material and timber

stakes

5000BP

5000BP

Boylstone Street Boston Fishweir

Brewarrina Fish Traps

stakes and woven material

stones

2500BP

6000BP

There is great diversity in the design and use of indigenous fish traps across different aquatic environments, such as-river systems,estuaries and coastal areas, where design and materiality has been contextual to the local environment and resource availability. Rock and earth work traps although effective and durable, were not dominant technologies due to their weight density, being reliant on the site and unable to be moved. Traps constructed from timber and woven material, on the other hand, were more common due to their portability and ease of construction, however compariably have not stood the test of time.

KNOWLEDGE PROTOCOL: FOOD SOVEREIGNTLY

food sovereignty (noun)

...a food system in which the people who produce, distribute, and consume food also control the mechanisms and policies of food production and distribution

INDIGENOUS FOOD SOVEREIGNTY Connection To Country

...Not just focused on rights to land, food and the ability to control a production system, but also responsibilities to culturally, ecologically and spiritually appropriate relationships with elements of those systems.

Reciprocal relationships between people, environment and all matter, which emulate respect are foundational to food sovereignty; “rather than asserting rights over particular resources as a means of controlling production and access.”2

In Aboriginal and Tores Strait Islander Cultures, Country encompasses all aspects of life, nature, language, stories, games, music, designs and ceremony for all living and non-living beings. It is a unique chain of being at the intersection of Cultural Identity, Relationships, History and Connection to Land and Water.

In this way Indigenous peoples engage in sustainable living especially in terms of food hunting and gathering. As custodians of the landscape, a “take only what is needed approach” is utilised to ensure sustainability natural ecosystems - allowing ecologies to continue to thrive long term. Touching the earth as lightly as possible to ensure the natural continuance and good health of Country.

A holistic understanding of the relationship between all living things 3

KNOWLEDGE CASE STUDY: THE BREWARRINA FISHTRAPS ‘It’s a powerful and spiritual place that.’4

Fig.Charles Kerry, A glass-plate negative of the fish traps dating from 1880-1923.

Photograph: Powerhouse Museum Sydney, https://collection.maas.museum/ object/32482

The Brewarrina Fish Traps or Ngunnhu are located in township of Brewarrina, northern New South Wales. Estimated to be over 40,000 years old, these structures occupy four hundred metres of riverbed on the Barwon River, an arm of the complex Murray-Darling Basin. The traps are of great significance to First Nations Communities and remain as the only functioning fish traps, from twenty one sites across the Murray- Darling region. The traps were included on the National Heritage List (June 2005, site Number 105788) (Australian Government 2008) and the State Heritage Register (August 2000) for the natural and cultural value the site has to the First Nations Peoples; past, present and emerging. This acknowledgment is extremely crucial in understanding the value of the site and structures, beyond a common reference, which draws focus to the site as a food source of physical and structural form.

ANTICIPATE THE CONTEXT OF TIME

Every moment in time sits in the context of now, with wisdom built on yesterday, in the anticipation of tomorrow.

EARLY TIMES

FORMATION Tambo

Augathella

Charleville

Roma

Chinchilla Tara

KOAMU

Bollon Cunnamulla

Brisbane

St George Goodiwindi

Stanthorpe

Hungerlord

Moree ir yd

R

Wanaaring

w

G

UALARAI

BREWARRINA

Bourke

Narrabri Armidale

Coonamble

KAMILAROI

Gunnedah

Coonabarabran

Wilcannia

Tamworth

Broken Hill

Barwon R Na

om

Dubbo

iR

Wellington

Ivanhoe ra stle Ca

Forbes Bathurst

hR

eg

WEILAN

Renmark

Adelaide

Mannum

Cowra

Mildura Balranald

Hay

Sydney

Griffith Leeton

Narrandera Yass

Muarry Bridge Wagga Wagga

Swan Hill

Goolwa Meningle

Canberra

Kerang Albury

Echuca Horsham

Wodonga

Shepparton

Seymour

Cooma

Omeo

Melbourne

The Murray darling basin covers 14% of the Australian continent and its three largest rivers (Murray, Darling and Murrumbidgee) in total stretch over 6900km.

The Muarry-Darling Basin is an expansive system of rivers and estuaries starting in southern Queensland. Most fish species are recorded in the lowlands of the basin where the landscape is flat and rivers are slow-moving and meandering.5 Generally slow moving rivers are preferred for traps and weirs, as fast moving streams tend to damage structure too easily. Choke points are used to restrict fish movement, such as tributaries and anabranches or in relatively low shallow sections of the main river bed.

The Barwon, and Upper Darling (for which Brewarrina is located) cuts through an extensive low-relief alluvial plain. The areas of low relief are mainly in the form of isolate rock outcrops and ancient weathering surfaces of silcrete dating back to over 250million years during the Palaeozoic.

The Barwon River as it intersects and wraps around the township of Brewarrina, developing radially from the river over time.

DREAMTIME

For the Ngemba people, the Fish Traps have shaped and embedded spiritual, political, social, economic, symbolic and cultural values for First Nations people, not only across the region, but across the nation. “Complex architectural symbolism was a result of the preoccupation with cosmology (Dreaming beliefs) and cosmogony (the origin, the universe and our place within it.”6

DREAMING “Dreaming, is part of social, religious, political and economic life for Aboriginal people.”7In examining the fish traps it is important to identify both Aboriginal tradition through the Dreamtime Story of Baiame’s Ngunnhu and the structural form of the site.

Baiame is known through Aboriginal oral histories as an ancestral creator of the land and therefore, this Dreamtime story is told by a significant local elder, June Baker. This is how the Brewarrina Fish Traps came to be:

“For thousands of years our Elders have told us many stories of how our country came to be. We have been told that in the beginning that there was just flat, red ground. We were told this was the beginning of our Dreamtime. Many things happened in our Dreamtime. We had been told that Baiame had entered the land of the moon and the sun. We had been told that Baiame on walkabout, took a giant step from Cobar to Gunadbooka, the sacred place of the Ngamba people.

And then he stepped over to Byrock, where he left the mark of his footprint on a stone. And then he came here to Brewarrina. He stopped at the waterhole known as the Gurrungga... The sun was scorching our earth and our waters were shrinking. Our people faced a famine. If there is no water, there is no food. No animal life, our people could die. Baiame found out and he returned to Brewarrina with his two sons. Baiame and his sons were so strong and they scattered large stones and dug up boulders, setting them out into the pattern of a great fish net. This fish nets became our Ngunnhu… The rain, it poured down for days. The people watched as the water rushed into the Gurrungga, over the rock wall and covered Baiame stone fish traps; Ngunnhu. And when the rain stopped and the flood fell, the Hipi, the fisherman, saw the fins and mouths of thousands of fish in the water. They were so happy and they rushed into the river and drove them into the Ngunnhu...

This is the story of how the Ngunnhu, Baiame stone fish traps came to Brewarrina. This is our Dreamtime story, about this special place where we sit here today.”8

HISTORICAL TIMELINE 1.

Dreamtime - Baiame and his two sons scatter rocks over the banks of the Barwon river to provide food and water to the Ngemba people. A black belly fish and pelican carve out the river banks.

2.

The traps served the Ngemba community as a continuous source of food in everyday life. It brings together many thousands of Aboriginal People and Communities far and wide for ritual and social gathering around an abundant source of food

3. Children stretch walk upstream to g the maze like traps the site of interge custodianship and ca

h across the river and guide fish to enter s. The traps remain enerational practice, are for country.

5.

Cubbie Cotton Station has affected the frequency and consistency of the water moving through the Barwon riverIf the dam at the station doesn’t fill up, the water doesn’t continue to travel downstream causing social, cultural and environmental complications at townships downstream (such as Brewarrina).

This ultimately rendering the fish traps unusable at times when water can’t reach the traps (stunting schools of fish and spawning)

4.

Colonisation makes its mark on the Barwon River as British pastoralists begin to work and take over the land. The removal of Indigenous Peoples from their country, the construction of the weir and fish stairs in Brewarrina damage not only spiritual and cultural connections but the water ecologies and reciprocal ecosystem.

The impact of colonisation highlights the disrespect of the custodianship of the land by western cultures, impacting the sustainable cultural, spiritual and environmental significance.

IMPACT OF COLONISATION

Arrival

Weir

The impact of colonisation has been far reaching and detrimental to local indigenous communities surrounding the fish traps. Since the arrival of British colonisers in 1839, Communities have been separated from their land and by extension their culture, stories and practices.

The complex nature of indigenous culture and kinship means memories and knowledge are often protected; held by persons who had the right to know such information. For this reason it is often difficult to access and understand knowledge about traditional landscapes, sacred places and ceremonial sites.

In the case of the Brewarrina region this meant the arrival of pastoralists ushered in the transformation of the native landscape into agricultural land with many sites being wiped of their stories and cultural significance. In the case of the Fish Traps the introduction of weirs and damming upstream to support agricultural industry mean’t the natural function of the traps, utilising the seasonal flow of the river and fish movement, was heavily impeded upon.

In th supp for ag impa detrim weir flow on fis const Abor the n desig impa fish s rocks acces durin sectio

he 1970’s a Weir was built, to port water access and irrigation griculture, having a significant act on the river flow and fish routes; mental to river ecology healt .The created an abrupt end to the river and separated the river, impacting sh flow up and down stream. This truction has been devastating to the riginal community of Brewarrina and natural function of the traps and their gn.In an attempt to counteract this act and navigate the complications, stairs have been constructed , from s, like the traps,. These create an ss point up and down the river ng fish migrations, across the divided ons.

The farming of cotton has created issues regarding river ecology, water politics and embargos across the area. Of particular damage, as noted by personal communications with Ted Gordon, Cubbie Station, a cotton farm 250km NE of Brewarrina has meant that water traveling downstream is diverted to the station to fill a dam for irrigation. As cotton is a thirsty plant, the dam is of considerable size- if this dam does not fill, no water continues back to the river system and the towns south of the station suffer. Years of drought and diverted water has had significant damage to the Barwon river ecology and the fish traps themselves; no water, means no fish and renders the traps useless.

Industry

The influx of introduced feral animals and plants severely increased grazing pressure, leading to erosion, soil compaction and exposure of subsoil that doesn’t easily re-vegetate. Native flora and fauna that were of cultural value to Indigenous communities now have nowhere to grow.

In recent times, the controversial implementation of water embargos during drought has caused conflicting public out cry from indigenous communities members and farmers alike. On one hand many upstream are rallying for water to be made available for irrigation, at the expense of water not reaching downstream. Whilst on the other, the minimal water able to make it downstream is believed to be lost to evaporation. Water politics have continued today with the government continuing to make controversial snap decisions to lift and place embargos, costing communities not only countless kiloliters of water, but immense damage to the natural flow of the river and its ecosystem.

THE MUSEUM

The Brewarrina Museum and Cultural Centre presents an interesting architectural condition on the rivers edge. The mound-like building is bound by a earth coloured colourbond door, at intersection between Indigenous and Colonial History; greeting you as you enter the metaphorical common ground. Owing to the tourism gained from the Heritage Protection of the traps, the ‘papier-mâché’ museum acts as a fascinating attempt at archiving and caring for the natural history of the traps and surrounding ecosystem via representation - most notably artwork and diorama .

Figure: Within the Brewarrina Museum Courtesy of State Library NSW, https://gather.sl.nsw.gov. au/digital-heritage/brewarrina-aboriginal-cultural-museum-interior-shop-second-dome

Figure: Within the Brewarrina Museum Courtesy of State Library NSW, https://gather.sl.nsw.gov. au/digital-heritage/brewarrina-aboriginal-cultural-museum-interior-shop-second-dome

Figure: Within the Brewarrina Museum Courtesy of State Library NSW, https://gather.sl.nsw.gov. au/digital-heritage/brewarrina-aboriginal-cultural-museum-interior-exhibition-first-dome

It’s difficult to unsee the irony of the a museum as intentional and safeguarded as this in the foreground of Brewarrina - even the original plans are under-seal.

Dry to Cool WILDFIRE TIME

GRASS CURE

Wet and Hot

IMPACT OF SEASONS Months & Seasons

SUMMER Dec

30 20 10 0

Seasons and Months readily effect the traps and surrounding ecologies. A comprehensive knowledge of the rainfall, temperature, fish spawning and seasons ensured the effective use of the traps by communities. More so in recent times, unexpected weather events including drought followed by sudden floods have resulted in rapid changes to the river environment.

The water of the Barwon river is never clear; but always a greyish-green hue, owing to the light coloured clays along its banks. During long periods of dry weather , a good deal of grey matter held in solution sinks to the bottom and the stagnant water becomes somewhat clear.9 In times of flood it is muddy and of slightly reddish shade, due to the storm water draining in from surface soils of that colour. Owning to this sudden change in the character of the liquid, the fish often flee due to a lack of oxygen in the water provided usually provided by the stagant water taking in air from the roots of trees and plants. When such events happen often the communities will utilise upstream traps to capture fish before their sudden demise.

Jan

WET

sweltering

hot

Feb

TOO COLD

BURNING TIME

Dry to Cool to Frosty

Hot and Windy

WINTER May

Jun

Jul

SPRING Aug

Sep

Oct Precipitation

Apr

WILDFIRE TIME

Freezing

AUTUMN Mar

RISKY TIME

Native Fish Spawning

DRY

Murray Cod Silver Perch Mac. Golden Perch

warm

comfortable

cool

comfortable

warm

hot

Average Temp

BURNING TIME

ES

First Nations Calandar

Cool becoming Warm

l

IMPACT OF CLIMATE Years, Decades, Centuries

The temperamental nature of the seasons and climate overtime has lead to long periods of drought most notable in the mid to late 2010s, followed by rapid flooding and wet seasons in 2021-2022.

It is especially clear, when analysing sources over time, the gradual shift in climate has caused many ecologies to continue and adapt - for example fish having adapted over time to salt water. But with a gradual decline in long term annual stream flow and a reduction in traditional custodians caring for the site, the future of the traps is contested.

Above figures: Image Courtesy of Getty Images, “Life flows downstream: Locals catch fish and celebrate along the banks of the Barwon River as it starts flowing again after severe drought” Eliza McPhee, https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8018477/Water-flows-Barwon-River-Brewarrina-battling-against-drought.html

“About 100,000 to 45,000 years ago, A long period of dry lakes. The weather was rather cooler and drier than now About 45,000 to 33,000 years ago, Lakes were filled with freshwater, clear and overflowing.

Strong westerly winds piled sand into dunes - Aboriginal Peoples were definitely in the area, in this period the traps are understood to have been built About 33,000 to 26,000, Lakes were filled with fresh water and were overflowing, this was the start of a major cold period - There was glaciation in the Australia Alps About 26,000 to 19,000 years, Lake levels were dropping and dunes with much clay mixed into the sand were formed About 18,000 years ago, A period of high water levels: The last period of dune formation About 17,500 years ago, Major drying of the lakes About 16,000 years ago, Most lakes were dry now About 15,000 to 10,000 years ago, Fairly dry conditions About 10,000 to 5,000 years ago Fairly humid conditions About 5,000 years ago, Conditions have become similar to what they are now”10

Above figures: Laila Haglund, “Brewarrina Shire - Community Base Aboriginal Heritage Study”. Pg 33

DRY

350 250 200

Brewarrina

Burtundy

300

DRY

WET

Wilcannia

150 100 50 0

1900

1920

1940

1960

1980

2000

Cease to Flow Days Days/ Years - DOWNSTREAM

HEIGHT = river is dry

2020

25000 20000 15000 10000 5000 0

Above figures: Crowns Water & DesignLaila Haglund, “Brewarrina Shire - Community Base Aboriginal Heritage

Mean

Long Term Annual Trend

Annual Stream Flow ML x 1000 - BREWARRINA

30000

KNOWLEDGE + ADAPTION CONSTRUCTION + METHOD

Figure: Courtesy of Destination NSW, https://www.visitnsw.com/things-to-do/tours/brewarrina-aboriginal-cultural-museum-tour

“... the most elaborate and symbolic places could be dismantled and erased after one short use.”11

CONSTRUCTION Ngunnhu are a series of complex maze-like,engineered rock structures created through what is known as dry wall construction techniques and acknowledged as the most sustainable fish trapping systems across Australia. Dry stone wall construction is a traditional technique of stacking rocks with no mortar or adhesive materials.These wall systems usually have a batter (where the top is narrower than the base) aiding the stability, strength, efficiency of use and construction. Like Aboirignal culture, dry walling is the oldest technique in building construction and is transferable to any structural form given fidelity is applied to the design, environmental context and build process.

Their successful construction is built on a broad range of knowledge and skills, as “Understanding of engineering works (dry stone walls), river hydrology and fish ecology,”12 is essential to developing comprehension of the construction and method of the traps. Ethical construction and stewardship is highlighted through the use of natural, available materiality and sustainable construction techniques.

In the case of Ngunnhu form, process and design allows for flexibility, as the river and its bed are fluid and continuously shifting, the wall (when constructed well) moves in conjunction with the ground, rather than against it, sustaining design and function.

CONTEXTUAL INFLUENCE ON DESIGN

Figure: Plan of fish traps: R.H. Mathews, ublished in his article ‘The Aboriginal fisheries of Brewarrina’, Diagram of the Ngunnhu or Native Fish Traps in the Darling River at Brewarrina, Royal Society of New South Wales 5 August 1903, pg 154, https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-756525252/view?partId=nla.obj-756527403#page/n11/mode/1up

The Murray Darling Basin and its river systems (including the Barwon River), ““..have very low gradients over most of their length, which cause them to flow slowly as they meander across the vast inland plains, and to spread widely at times of food. Therefore, river “choke holds...anabranches and lagoons,”13 have had significant influence on the design and construction of the traps: allowing for great diversity across Country. The design of the traps “allows for operation in both high and low river flows.”14 with varying wall heights and sizes of trap catchments. “The rock structures at Brewarrina are not set out in a straight line, nor do they cover the whole width of the river. However, they do create a barrier to easy movement for fish across the main section of the river.”15

Figure: B. Hana, Courtesy of the NSW government, https://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/maritimeheritageapp/resources/Heritage/shi/505/5051305b2.jpg

The rock walled traps located more centrally to the middle of the river are designed to allow the slow flowing river run, penetrating the lower lying formations. Closer to the bank, the traps are higher in order to combat use during flooding seasons. This change in the wall heights was an anticipated response to varying water levels and water flows at any given time. “Although passive devices, traps can enable the restriction of large numbers of fish with minimal effort once a trap is built,”16 without disrupting the flow of the river. Understanding fish ecology is essential in order to optimise the use of the traps across the seasons. The success of the traps is acknowledged by the Ngemba people, as being reliant on the wisdom and knowledge of Country and hunting practices alongside fish movement and behaviour. “To use it effectively you need to understand fish behaviour - movements, times of the year, impact of floods and seasonal changes in river levels.”17

Figure: Sue E Jackson, “Operationalising the ecosystem services approach in water planning: a case study of indigenous cultural values from the Murray-Darling Basin, Australia, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/271508065_Operationalising_the_ecosystem_services_approach_in_ water_planning_a_case_study_of_indigenous_cultural_values_from_the_ Murray-Darling_Basin_Australia

Figure: Isabella Harris, 2020

PURPOSE + METHODOLOGY

Figure: Detail of an 1890s photograph showing ancient stone fish traps, on display at the Brewarrina Aboriginal Cultural Museum, https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/ programs/archived/bushtelegraph/brewarrina-fish-traps/5452872

“It is about sustainable fishing.”18 Sustainability of life is embedded in the deep relationships between people and environment. Interconnected, woven and strategically constructed within the landscape the fish traps not only represent spiritual and cultural connection to Country, community and the Dreamtime, but have in contexts of time provided a food source for survival, life, as well as a social ecology for belonging. An ecosystem for living, where Aboriginal nations gathered with access to an abundant food supply.

Across the banks of the Barwon, each of the stone fish traps was traditionally delegated to respective communities residing along the river. This built an individual and collective efficacy of responsibility, custodianship and stewardship for Aboriginal people.

The maze-like, meandering rock structures slow down the movement of the fish as they travel through and across the “various loops and dead-ends,”19 of the rock formations. Traditionally fish were herded into the traps through openings where rocks had been removed.

Walking shoulder to shoulder through the water, Aboriginal people would create a barrier forcing fish into the traps. Once inside the traps, the rocks were replaced and the fish trapped for a short period of time. Here, they are more easily speared and captured to eat.

Figure: Ariel of the Brewarrina Fishtraps, Courtesy of SBS NITV, https://www.sbs. com.au/nitv/article/2021/11/26/first-nations-candidates-set-make-history-nswcouncil-elections

Figure: Henry King Collection, Original title ‘Photographs of Australian Aborigines, ca. 18701880 / Henry King’. https://gather.sl.nsw.gov.au/digital-heritage/photos-fish-traps

The construction and method of the traps, sympathetically speaks to the stewardship of the traps; without manual movement and use of the rock structures, fish were not caught and trapped. If the fish trapped were not required as a food source they were freed within a short window of time, with consideration to the oxygenation of the water within the trap and the survival of the fish in this space.20 This ensured lower kill to capture rates and continued breeding stock for future food supplies and species population.

In its current form, the fish stairs to the south of the river were designed and constructed to navigate the complications developed from the construction of the weir. Acting as a dead end, the weir abrupting stops river flow and fish movement- the stairs act as the only plausible way for fish to continue travelling along the river. Constructed of rocks, similar to that of the traps themselves, the stairs create an access point to allow fish to travel up and downstream, a connection to the now divided river sections.

Figure: Isabella Harris, 2020

Figure: Isabella Harris, 2020

According to observations by Damian Kelly, “...Aboriginal children today still catch fish by wading through the maze and easily catching fish that are moving slowly through the maze structure.

In the past they would have used woven bags or nets, but these days the ever-resourceful children use cylindrical tree-guards made either from plastic or metal mesh”.21

Above figures: Image Courtesy of Getty Images, “Life flows downstream: Locals catch fish and celebrate along the banks of the Barwon River as it starts flowing again after severe drought” Eliza McPhee, https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8018477/Water-flows-Barwon-River-Brewarrina-battling-against-drought.html

“...there was no real difference between a person and an animal. Both were made of the same material as the earth. They were equals..” 22 Baiame Creation Story

RELATIONSHIP + SUSTAINABILITY “Everything is somehow “alive”. Every rock, landform, plant and animal has its own conciousness, just as people”

Country

Community

Human

Non Human

As ontological beings relationships are central to our existence and it is through these relationships, with and within spaces, with all matter, living and non living, each is nourished. The value of all relationships is of particular importance for Aboriginal people, who believe social and ecological relationships are interdependent, one in the same. The Brewarrina Fishtraps are a notable example of how Aboriginal architecture and engineered structures encode and intertwine cultural and social meanings.

STORY - COUNTRY The story of the Ngunnhu and their creation are embedded in the triangulation of the relationship between the environment, people and design. At their intersection, experiences of nourishment are enhanced through story and stewardshipthe protection of culture and environment; knowledge and resources. The fishtraps, “an important location where the community elders can pass knowledge, language and songs and stories to the younger generation,”23 establishing intergenerational relationships and education. The traps culminate an advanced sense understanding and coexistence on Country - through soil, flora, fauna, weather and seasons.

COMMUNITY - HUMANS - ECOSYSTEMS

It is via community that culture is nourished and relationships are built.

The dreaming story of Baime shares the law and customs of the land.

In this space, through these social relationships, Indigenous knowledge is shared; knowledge which is dynamic, adaptive and contextual.

This social and ecological knowledge is relational and involves mutual nourishment, connectivity and respect; central to all relationships with living and non living matter.

Key attributes of fish traps are the ability to provide food for large groups with minimal effort and the ability to hold live fish as fresh food which is useful if a gathering occurs over several days. Hence, it is likely that gathering and ceremonial sites will often be associated with fish trapping. Similarly, other types of trapping structures are associated with gathering/ceremonial areas; Lake Bolac, a known seasonal gathering site in relation to eel traps. Such gatherings were important for general social interaction as well as trading materials, tools through to marriage and sharing of intergenerational knowledge.

HUMAN - NON HUMAN - FLORA

The ecological knowledge of the Aboriginal people of Brewarrina is ethical. Stewardship of Country is evident through respect for non-human species and river ecology.

In the case of The Ngunnhu this is evidenced through function and design.

Humans are closely linked to the traps as a source of food and ceremony, which is reliant on their respect for fish numbers and care for the traps. Within the traps fish are dependent on crustaceans, and crustaceans-plankton who both take sustenance from algae. All of these are sustained further through the availability, salinity and oxygenation of the water controlled through care for native flora and lad that aids the maintenance and good health of the ecosystem as a whole. In this way all living beings have a unique responsibility to be custodians of the landscape and waterways and perpetuate sustainable living and relationships.

The Non Human

The Human

In order to have a sustainable fishing approach, it is integral for users of the Brewarrina Fish Traps to understand suitable targets and their inherit attributes.

Through intergenerational knowledge and teaching, First Nations communities have, for thousands of years, had great connection and understanding of non-human behaviour.24 The Ngemba people study the movement patterns of varied fish species; how they move through trap areas and travel paths at different times of the year.25 Understanding seasonal migration and predictable behaviours, such as “returning to specific home sites on a regular basis for feeding or spawning”26 provides the user with a cohesive understanding of fish behaviour.

With such knowledge of fish ecology, First Nations People have a cultural and spiritual responsibility of caring for Country (stewardship/reciprocal relationship), and providing an environment that harnesses sustainable fishing for future generations.

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, inconjunction with historical, cultural and ethnographic research, an in depth analysis of the Brewarrina Fish Traps was facilitated.

The greatest learning from the case study of the Brewarrina Fish Traps, is that sustainable design is created at the intersection of understandings of knowledge, skills, contexts ( socio-cultural, environmental, spiritual), all which stem from reciprocal relationships. When relationships are not central, the opportunity for all (people ,nature and environments) to flourish is negated. The impacts are intergenerational and far reaching in our micro and macro environments “The water is an entity.”27 There is interconnected responsibility between land and water and people.”28 For the Ngemba people there is great sadness about the fish traps today. The fish traps, very much an anchor to their identity and life have been impacted by western social norms and environmental change, as a result of colonisation and marginalisation.

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Recipricol relationships which nourish

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For a sustainable future

Respect for all ecologies, inclusive experiences with and within space for all to flourish

The Custodianship of the Ngemba people, the values of interconnectedness within the ecosystem and between Country, people and culture, is in direct conversation and reflected within the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. The wisdom of Aboriginal people centralises the core value of relationships between all matter, living and non living. Where inclusivity is essential for all to flourish.

There is an urgent need for a critical shift from capitalist venture and the value placed on objects to an emphasis on individual and collective experiences to build understanding and relational well being, in which all matter can flourish.. Health over wealth. Such a shift is needed to create a sustainable future for all ecologies, in our shared common space

“Our people look after the fish traps, but they are for everyone.”29

Endnotes | References 1 Department of Planning, Industry and Environment, Report on culturally appropriate First Nations consultation with Ngemba Nation, “6.3. Responses – Uses”, July 2019, PUB18/793, p. 49. https://www.industry.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0019/236143 2 Elizabeth Hoover, “ You can’t say you’re sovreign if you can’t feed yourself: Defining and Enacting Food Sovreignty in American Indian Community Gardening”, American Indian Culture and Research Journal, 2017 3 Elizabeth Hoover, “ You can’t say you’re sovreign if you can’t feed yourself: Defining and Enacting Food Sovreignty in American Indian Community Gardening”, 22 4 Department of Planning, Industry and Environment, Report on culturally appropriate First Nations consultation with Ngemba Nation, “6.3. Responses – Uses”, July 2019, PUB18/793, p. 48. https://www.industry.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0019/236143/ culturally-appropriate-first-nations-consultation-ngemba.pdf 5 Personal Communication with Ted Gordon- Aboriginal Lands Council Brewarrina 6 Alison Page and Paul Memmott, “Engineered Structures,” in Design: Building on Country, (Thames & Hudson Australia :2021) 72 7 Alison Page and Paul Memmott, “Engineered Structures,” in Design: Building on Country, 32 8 “Baiames Ngunnhu- the story of the Brewarrina Fish Traps,” Department of Agriculture water and the Environment for the National Heritage Listing, 2005, https://www. youtube.com/watch?v=7uYKg1M6PRk 9 Laila Haglund, “Brewarrina Shire - Community Base Aboriginal Heritage Study”, 2012, https://www.brewarrina.nsw.gov.au/ 10 Laila Haglund, “Brewarrina Shire - Community Base Aboriginal Heritage Study”. 33 11 Alison Page and Paul Memmott, “Engineered Structures,” in Design: Building on Country, 68 12 M. H Monroe, “Australia: The Land Where Time Began, A biography of the Australian continent Brewarrina Aboriginal Fish Traps (Baiame’s Nguunhu)” https://austhrutime. com/brewarrina_aboriginal_fish_traps_.htm 13 Damian Kelly, Archeology of the Fishtraps, 25 14 Alison Page, “Engineered Structures,” in Design: Building on Country, 57 15 Damian Kelly, Archeology of the Fishtraps, 52 16 Damian Kelly, Archeology of the Fishtraps, 24 17 Damian Kelly, Archeology of the Fishtraps, 46 18 Geoff Hiscock, “Ancient Aboriginal fish traps refocus Australian history debate: Were pre-colonial indigenous people farmers or hunter-gatherers?” in Nikkei Asia, Novemebr 2021, https://asia.nikkei.com/Life-Arts/Life/Ancient-Aboriginal-fish-traps-refocus-Australian-history-debate 19 Damian Kelly, Archeology of the Fishtraps, 54 20 Personal Communication with Ted Gordon- Aboriginal Lands Council Brewarrina 21 Damian Kelly, Archeology of the Fishtraps, 53 22 Laila Haglund, “Brewarrina Shire - Community Base Aboriginal Heritage Study”. 16 23 M. H Monroe, “Australia: The Land Where Time Began, A biography of the Australian continent Brewarrina Aboriginal Fish Traps (Baiame’s Nguunhu)” https://austhrutime. com/brewarrina_aboriginal_fish_traps_.htm 24 Personal Communication with Ted Gordon- Aboriginal Lands Council Brewarrina 25 Personal Communication with Ted Gordon- Aboriginal Lands Council Brewarrina 26 Damian Kelly, Archeology of the Fishtraps, 71 27 Department of Planning, Industry and Environment, Report on culturally appropriate First Nations consultation with Ngemba Nation, “6.3. Responses – Uses”, July 2019, PUB18/793, p. 45. https://www.industry.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0019/236143 28 Department of Planning, Industry and Environment, Report on culturally appro-

priate First Nations consultation with Ngemba Nation, “5.4 Custodianship and jurisdiction”, July 2019, PUB18/793, p. 34. https://www.industry.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_ file/0019/236143 29 Geoff Hiscock, “Ancient Aboriginal fish traps refocus Australian history debate: Were pre-colonial indigenous people farmers or hunter-gatherers?” https://asia.nikkei.com/Life Arts/Life/Ancient-Aboriginal-fish-traps-refocus-Australian-history-debate